Responsible Reflections Blog

Since President Trump came to office in 2017, Washington has seen an incredible amount of deregulatory efforts within the executive branch. The administration has been working hard to reduce the regulatory burden on businesses through various reforms across the federal government. And it has made tremendous progress. However, there is one aspect of the regulatory regime that I believe has been overlooked: enforcement.

Over the last few years, some members of Congress have emphasized the need for reforming our nation’s health care system. While many efforts were aimed at dismantling Obamacare, doing so has not proven easy. Republicans, particularly in the Senate, were unable to find a consensus on a path for reform. In response, President Trump took matters into his own hands through an executive order directing federal agencies to find ways to increase competition and lower costs through association health plans.

If you listen to the media these days, it seems like Washington is breaking apart at the seams. While it’s true that DC certainly has plenty of issues to work on right now, including tax reform, if you dig a little deeper you’ll find that policymakers are doing some great things that don’t often get covered in the press. A perfect example of this is the work members of the bipartisan Congressional Chemistry Caucus are doing to advance the knowledge and importance of chemistry in everyday life.